Shakim Phillips Biography

Shakim Phillips (born March 19, 1992) is an American football Wide receiver who is currently a free agent. He was signed as an undrafted free agent to the Steelers after going undrafted in the 2015 NFL Draft. He played college football at Boston College and the University of Connecticut.

High School career

Phillips played football DePaul Catholic High School as a teenager. As a junior in 2008, he finished the season with 40 catches, 765 receiving yards, and 12 touchdown receptions. The next year he led DePaul to a 7-2 record. After his senior year, he was invited to play for the east team in the US Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio, TX.

College career

Boston College

After graduating from high school, he enrolled at Boston College to play for head coach Frank Spaziani. In week 7, he made his first career catch for 9-yards in a 19-24 loss to #17 Florida State. The next game, against Maryland, he returned a kickoff for 63-yards. He ended his freshman year with only one catch, but played in 4 games.

University of Connecticut

After his freshman year, Phillips had decided to transfer to UConn after he no longer wanted to play for Boston College's head coach Frank Spaziani. Due to the NCAA's student transfer guidelines, he was required to sit out the entire 2011 season.

After resuming his career in the beginning of the 2012 season, he made 4 catches for 42 receiving yards, in a week 4 lost to Western Michigan. He then racked up a career-high 7 receptions in a week 7 contest against Temple. On November 9, he caught 5 passes for 52 yards against Pittsburgh. In week 13, he pulled in another 7 receptions, tying his career-high, against Cincinnati. He finished his first season with UConn, ranking second on the team with 32 catches for 399 yards and a touchdown.

He then continued to play at UConn for his junior season in 2013. In the season opener, after UConn switched from the Big East to the American Conference, he caught 5 passes for 77 yards and 2 touchdown receptions in a 18-33 loss to the FCS's #11 Towson. The next game he had 10 completions, 178 receiving yards, and scored a 75-yard touchdown reception against Maryland. In a week 7 contest against Cincinnati, Phillips finished the game with 3 receptions and 38 receiving yards. He then went on to catch 4 passes for 73 yards in a 14-17 overtime loss at SMU. In 2013 he started only 8 games, missing 4 due to injury, but ended up finishing his last season at UConn with 28 receptions, 406 receiving yards, and 3 touchdowns while also graduating with a bachelor's degree in resource economics.

Return to Boston College

Phillips decided to return to Boston College to play his last collegiate season after they replaced former head coach Frank Spaziani with Steve Adazio. Since he already graduated from UConn the previous year, he was not required to sit out a season after transferring. In a week 2 loss to Pittsburgh, he racked up a season-high 4 catches and 78 receiving yards while also scoring a 48-yard touchdown. The next week against #9 USC, Phillips was held to only one catch for 17 yards. At Wake Forest, in week 9, he caught a crucial 37-yard touchdown in a 23-17 victory. On November 22, the Eagles played #1 Florida State. In the game, Phillips scored a season long 49-yard touchdown. The following week, he was held to a single 30-yard reception in a 28-7 victory over Syracuse. His last collegiate game was played in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl against Penn State where he finished with 3 catches for 40 yards including a 19-yard touchdown. Phillips finished his last season with a career-high 21.7 yards per catch and season totals of 13 receptions, 282 receiving yards, and 4 touchdowns.

Phillips finished his collegiate career with career totals of 74 receptions, 1,096 receiving yards, 14.9 yards per reception, and 8 touchdown receptions in 36 career games.

Professional career

With no eligibility left, he declared for the 2015 NFL Draft. Phillips signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers as an undrafted rookie free agent on May 12, 2015, reuniting him with Boston College teammate, quarterback turned wide receiver, Tyler Murphy.